Inserting Text from Dictionary

T-FLEX CAD provides two commands for inserting texts from dictionaries:

•Insert text from T-FLEX CAD Dictionary (always available)

•Insert text from T-FLEX DOCs Dictionary (available only in T-FLEX DOCs integration mode)

Insert text from T-FLEX CAD Dictionary

When creating drawings, you often need to add the same text several times on the same drawing or repeat from a drawing to a drawing (such as, for example, drawing notes). T-FLEX CAD makes a provision for this case by including in the installation a standard dictionary with a set of drawing notes. The dictionary is based on file of *.xml format, represented by the file C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Top Systems\T-FLEX CAD 3D xx\Eng\TFDict.xml. The user can create custom dictionaries or modify this standard dictionary by manually adding or deleting elements. To create a new dictionary file, make a copy of the standard dictionary and save it under a different name, and then modify as necessary.

 

When editing the text content in a 2D or 3D window, text insertion from the T-FLEX CAD dictionary is performed using the following automenu command:

This command is also available in the contextual menu of the text content: Dictionary <F6>.

When editing the contents of string text in the parameters dialog, this command is available in the contextual menu of the input box.

When editing the text content in the editor, this command is available on the Standard toolbar, as well as in the drop-down menu (Insert > Text...).

 

After calling the command, the dictionary window opens:

1 - Main menu

2 - Toolbar (Main toolbar)

3 - Dictionary sections tree

4 - List of entries of the selected section

5 - The content panel (content of the selected entry)

6 - Status bar

The tree structure of the sections of the current dictionary is displayed in the left part of the window. In the upper right part of the dictionary window, a list of entries of the selected section is displayed in tabular form. For each entry in the list, the Name and Contents are displayed. The Contents is the text that is directly inserted into the drawing. The Name is usually a short version of the contents and serves to identify entries in the dictionary. In the list of entries, the Contents is displayed as a single string. The newline characters are shown in the form of the code \n. In the lower right part of the dictionary window, the Contents of the selected entry is displayed in the form in which it is inserted into the drawing.

To search for the necessary entry, you can use the search bar located on the right side of the toolbar. Enter your search query and click . The result depends on which part of the window is active at the time the search is launched. The active part of the window can be determined by the color of the highlighting of the selected element. If the sections tree is active, then the search is performed in the tree through headers. If the list of section entries is active, the search is performed through the contents of these entries. If the contents of the record is active, then the search is not performed. As a result of the search, the first found result is selected in the corresponding window. By pressing the button sequentially, you can switch between the results.

You can insert the content of the record into the text in the following ways:

•By double-clicking its row in the list of entries.

•By clicking the Insert into editor button in the toolbar.

In both cases, the pasted text is also copied to the clipboard. In addition, the text of the entry selected in the list can be copied to the clipboard by clicking the Copy button in the toolbar.

Configuring the Dictionary Window interface

By default, after the content of the entry is inserted into the text, the dictionary window automatically closes. If you activate the Keep Visible option on the toolbar, the dictionary window will not be closed automatically. An open dictionary window does block working with other T-FLEX CAD windows and commands. Additionally, you can activate the Always on Top option on the toolbar, which fixes the dictionary window above all other windows. The Keep Visible and Always on Top commands are also available in the View section of the main menu. There you can also turn on/off the display of the Status bar and Toolbar. In addition, you can turn on/off the display of the Main Menu and the Main Toolbar in their contextual menus. You can close the dictionary window using the standard button in the upper right corner of the window or using the Exit command in the File section of the main menu.

Editing the content of an entry

The content of the record can be stored as formatted or unformatted text. The formatted text is displayed in the dictionary and inserted into the drawing with customizable font and paragraph parameters. In addition, various elements can be inserted into it in the same way as it is done for the text in the drawing. The unformatted text is inserted with the parameters that are set for the current position of the text cursor in the drawing, and is displayed in the dictionary in the same font as the elements of the T-FLEX CAD interface.

Unformatted text can be edited directly on the content panel in the dictionary window.

The formatted text is edited in the text editor. To open the editor for the selected entry, click on the content panel or use the Edit Formatted Text button on the toolbar

Unformatted text can be converted to formatted text by clicking the Insert Formatted Text button on the toolbar.

Formatted text can be converted to unformatted by clicking the Delete Formatted Text button on the toolbar.

Editing a dictionary

To work with dictionary files, use the following commands available in the File section of the main menu:

• Open
Opens another dictionary file, closing the current one. This command is also available in the toolbar.

•Add from...
Adds the contents of another dictionary to the current dictionary.

•Save as...
Saves the current dictionary under a different name.

•Close
Closes the current dictionary, leaving an empty dictionary window open.

To work with sections and entries of the current dictionary, use the following commands available in the toolbar:

• Add
Adds a new section to the current level of the dictionary tree or a new entry to the current section. The result (adding a section or entry) depends on which part of the dictionary window is active at the time the command is called. This command is also available in the context menu of sections in the tree (Create > Folder - creates a section, Create > Text - creates an entry). In addition, you can create an entry from the context menu of the empty part of the list of entries (Create).

• Delete
Deletes a section highlighted in the tree or an entry highlighted in the list, depending on which part of the dictionary window is active at the time the command is called. This command is also available in the contextual menu of the elements of the dictionary tree and the list of records.

• Rename

•Renames the section highlighted in the tree or the entry highlighted in the list, depending on which part of the dictionary window is active at the time the command is called. This command is also available in the contextual menu of the elements of the dictionary tree and the list of records.

• Sort
Sorts by name entries in the list or sections at the current level of the tree. This command is also available in the contextual menu of the blank part of the list of entries. In addition, you can sort the entries in the list by Name or Content by clicking on the column header in the list.

• Move Up and Move Down
Moves the selected entry up/down the list or the selected section along the current level of the tree. These commands are also available in the contextual menus of entries in the list (Move Up, Move Down). In addition, you can move records and sections by dragging them with the mouse while clamped .

• Paste
Replaces the contents of the selected record with the contents of the clipboard, if there is a suitable data type.

Working with external databases

The following commands are available on the toolbar of the dictionary window:

Add reference database
This command is also available in the contextual menu of the dictionary tree (Create > Reference Database). Includes the contents of an external database (*.accdb or *.mdb) into the dictionary. After calling the command, a file selection window appears on the screen, allowing you specify the required database. Note that adding a section with the selected database occurs at the current level of the dictionary structure. After creating the database section, you can rename it (by default, the path and name of the database file are used as the section name) or move it to another level. Unlike other dictionary sections, the contents of the linked database cannot be edited and converted to formatted text. The next step is to set the database parameters (when adding a base this dialog appears automatically).

Edit database parameters
The dialog window is shown in below:

The left side of the dialog window contains the list of all fields of the selected table in the database (the table is selected in the Table drop-down list). In the right side of the dialog window the user places the fields to be used in the dictionary. To add a field, select it in the left pane and press the [>>] button. To remove a field select in the right list and press the [<<] button. The Add All and Delete All buttons do this with all elements of the field list. The selected database fields will be placed in the dictionary window in the order they were in the right side of the dialog. To modify a field position, select it in the right side of the dialog and move within the list using the Up and Down buttons. The SQL statement input box is provided for specifying the selection condition for the fields and records in the database.